Hurricane Debby makes landfall in Florida
Dangerous storm surge, along with flooding rainfall and gusty winds are expected. Here are the latest details.
Debby is still a Category 1 hurricane as it pushes inland over Florida’s Big Bend region but will quickly become a tropical storm as the system is cut off from the warm water fueling it.
The reduction in wind speed won’t do much to limit Debby’s wrath, as torrential, flooding rainfall will spread over large portions of Florida and southern Georgia this morning and last for days.
Debby will track generally to the north-northeast and its center is likely to cross into southern Georgia by mid-afternoon. The system will move slowly through southeastern Georgia until its center emerges over the Atlantic around mid-afternoon Tuesday.
#Hurricane #Debby has made landfall near Steinhatchee, FL with max winds of 80 mph. Debby is the 4th hurricane to make landfall in Florida in August since 2000. The other three are: Charley (2004), Katrina (2005) and Idalia (2023). pic.twitter.com/GmBQXSurQR
— Philip Klotzbach (@philklotzbach) August 5, 2024
Debby could slow down to walking speed by Tuesday night and stall just off the coast of South Carolina through at least Thursday morning. Torrential rainfall could pound parts of Georgia and the Carolinas during this time – especially coastal South Carolina.
The Category 1 storm hit near Steinhatchee about 7 a.m. ET with winds estimated at 80 mph. Shortly after landfall, power outages skyrocketed to above 250,000 utility customers in the Sunshine State.
By midweek, the storm is expected to dump extreme amounts of nearly 2 feet of rain on parts of Georgia and South Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is forecasting “potentially historic rainfall” across southeastern Georgia and South Carolina through Friday, causing widespread flash flooding and life-threatening conditions.
A tornado watch also was in effect for parts of Florida and Georgia on Monday.
“Right now, we are to trying secure everything from floating away,” said Sheryl Horne, whose family owns the Shell Island Fish Camp along the Wakulla River in St. Marks, Florida, where some customers moved their boats inland.
The sparsely populated Big Bend region in the Florida Panhandle also was hit last year by Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
“I am used to storms and I’m used to cleaning up after storms,” Horne said.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee said Monday morning that heavy flooding was the biggest concern in the Big Bend regions, with storm surge expected across Apalachee Bay.